Learn from top casting directors, talent agents and managers...

Hear from current child actors...

Gain insight from union representatives...

And much, much more...

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Cassie Carpenter Casting Editor, Back Stage West Panelist: Marketing Tools for the Child Actor

For the past four years, Cassie Carpenter has been a proud member of the Back Stage West team. For 40+ years, Back Stage: The Actor's Resource ©-the sister publication of The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, and Ross Reports-has maintained an excellent reputation in the industry as a resource actors can trust. Back Stage publishes weekly newspapers in New York and Los Angeles as well as the national website, BackStage.com. Combined, the prestigious trade includes weekly profiles, industry features, and casting notices to well over 100,000 performers.

As Casting Editor, Carpenter recently organized the west coast casting side of the massive relaunch for both print editions and website last month. As opposed to other casting websites, Back Stage's unique casting guarantee ensures actors that all notices are vetted to make sure union projects are union and her department always performs reference checks on directors for nonunion projects involving nudity.

Carpenter is a graduate of Emerson College's journalism program, and as a reporter for Back Stage West, she has written articles on topics from tackling loves scenes to performing in video games.

Carpenter has interviewed numerous former child performers, including Macaulay Culkin, Scarlett Johansson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Deborah Gibson, and Diego Luna. In addition, she has also interviewed actors such as Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, Ron Livingston, Margaret Cho, Chris Noth, and Michael C. Hall. Filmmakers she's interviewed include Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant, Michel Gondry, Lars von Trier, John Waters, Todd Solondz, Wes Anderson, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Richard Linklater, and David Cronenberg.

Marnie Cooper Acting Teacher and Coach The Marnie Cooper School of Acting, Inc. Panelist: Learning from the Coaches - Advice from Acting Coaches

Marnie teaches acting individually and in group classes to children, teenagers and adults. Her students have appeared in film, television, theatre and commercials. They have been winners and nominees of numerous Emmy, Cable ACE and Tony Awards. Her clients have starred in such projects as How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Cradle 2 the Grave, Envy, A.I., Deep Impact, Joan of Arc, Stolen Summer, Thirteen, Hearts in Atlantis, Life as a House, The Hot Chick, Home Alone 4, Bruce Almighty, The Cat in the Hat, Thunderbirds, Boomtown, American Dreams, Oliver Beene, Touched By an Angel, E.R., The Shield, Law and Order, The Division, 7th Heaven, Angel, 24, Charmed, Providence, Any Day Now, Profiler, Family Law, Judging Amy, Strong Medicine, The District, West Wing, Hidden Hills, C.S.I., Everwood, Boston Public, Crossing Jordan, Six Feet Under, Phil of the Future, Frasier, Just Shoot Me, Will & Grace, Becker, Grounded for Life, Malcolm in the Middle, Reba, Even Stevens, Lizzie Maguire, Do Over, Felicity, Popular, Freaky Links, Jamie Kennedy Experiment, Without a Trace, Less Than Perfect, Cracking Up, Empire Falls, Les Miserables, Beauty And The Beast, Falsettos, Passions, Days of Our Lives, All My Children, One Life to Live, The Bold and The Beautiful, General Hospital, Port Charles, the list goes on..

Ruth Crofton Owner, Crofton Management Group Panelist: Financial Advising for Families of Young Actors

Ruth Crofton, CPA, has worked in the financial management industry for the past 25 years. For the past 12 years she has owned Crofton Management Group, a business management consulting firm based in Los Angeles. Prior to opening, Crofton Management Group, Ruth was a Principal at Breslauer, Jacobson, Rutman and Sherman, Inc, a financial management firm with a focus in the entertainment industry.

Ruth is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She received her Masters in Taxation from Georgetown University.

Ben Diskin has acted and lent his voice to numerous movies and television series, including Fat Albert, "Hey Arnold", "Codename: Kids Next Door" and "Just Like Dad". He started acting at a very young age, and has been doing voice acting since the age of 5.

At the moment, Ben is focusing on writing, specifically for television and even more specifically for animated shows. He is currently taking classes in Television and Film production at Cal State, Los Angeles. Ben is a first degree black belt, and also enjoys tennis and video games.

Marc Durso Acting Coach and Teacher Act True Moderator: Financial Advising for Families of Young Actors

Marc Durso, Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Associate and
a member of Actors' Equity Association, has assisted Broadway directors
Alan Arkin, Tony Stevens, Tony Award winner Ann Reinking and Tony Award
winner Charles Nelson Reilly. He has directed/associate directed NY and
LA premieres starring Tony Award winners Uta Hagen and Fritz Weaver as
well as for legendary Master Teacher, Sanford Meisner. He has written
for a CBS animated series, CADILLACS & DINOSAURS, with head writer,
Steven de Souza, writer of the blockbuster films, DIE HARD and BEVERLY
HILLS COP.

He coaches actors for Film and TV in the South Florida Entertainment
Market where he is the Rehearsal Coach for the Miami Telenovela OCEAN
AVENUE, as well as the US competitors in the World Ballroom Theatrical
Dance competition in Blackpool, England.

Marc teaches private workshops throughout the United States and Europe. His students are working SAG, AFTRA and AEA members with film and TV starring and co-starring roles, national tours and commercials to their credit. His students have gone on to study at The Atlantic Theater Company, AADA, Neighborhood Playhouse, H. B. Studio in New York, The Irish Theatre and Oxford Summer Programs.

Marc is a graduate of the Burt Reynolds Institute, where he studied with
Tony Award winners and Broadway stars Julie Harris, Leonard Frye, Tom
Troupe, Alan Arkin, Jerry Herman and Charles Nelson Reilly.

Nora Eckstein Owner and Director, Young Actors Space Panelist: Staying Smart: Education for Child Actors

Nora Eckstein, owner and director of Young Actors Space, has been coaching and teaching young actors for twenty-five years. She joined Diane Hardin as an associate at Young Actors Space when the doors opened in 1982, and has taught and coached hundreds of young actors in starring roles on film, TV and stage. She is thrilled in her new role as "Supreme Dispenser of Joy".

In 1983, she and Diane Hardin became partners in Hardin/Eckstein Talent Management, and for over 20 years they managed the careers of scores of young stars. Nora's clients and students have won great recognition, including Emmys and Oscars.

Her students and clients have starred in countless movies and television shows. To name just a few: SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE; SEVENTH HEAVEN; FREAKY FRIDAY; MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE; BEETHOVEN; JURASSIC PARK; TITANIC; SMALLVILLE; DR. QUINN:MEDICINE WOMAN; THE NANNY; THE YOIUNG AND THE RESTLESS; THE BAD NEWS BEARS; HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS; ER; HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS; FULL HOUSE; MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING; ACCIDENTAL TOURIST; ALADDIN; etc. As a professional coach, she worked on many projects, including American Heart; Youth in Revolt; The Disney Sunday Movies; The Bad Seed; and Rags to Riches.

Born in Vancouver Canada, Kelsey has been in Hollywood shooting for over
12 years. She shoots entertainers, models and musicians. She has worked
with many celebrities, such as Florence Henderson, Kin Shriner, Dakota
Fanning, Boomer Esiason, Billy Bob Thornton, Laura Dern, Neve Campbell,
Shawn Mullins, and En Vogue¹s Cindy Braggs. Her work has been featured
in well-known magazines such as People, US, Allure, Marie Claire,
Interview and In Style. Her 3000 square foot natural light studio is
located on Melrose and La Brea. She shoots all over North America, from
Vancouver, BC to Texas to Georgia and has opened a satellite studio in
Atlanta. Kelsey Edwards is best known for her ability to create a
comfortable atmosphere and rapport that draws the client in and allows
the essence of their personality to be captured. Rather than stage an
image by arranging the individuals, Kelsey converses with her clients
until their interactions create the perfect candid moment. Her work is
often likened to film stills, in that they capture the core of the
actor¹s character, be it "edgy", "boy next door" or "leading man" in an
honest, informal and spontaneous way. While her main intent is to
capture a specific moment, she is also interested in the compositional
elements of the work- the light, shadows, shape and textures.. Kelsey has also
developed a team of photographers called Cool Chicks and A Dog who work
with her at her studio and on location. They also share her style and
philosophy.

Working in the animation business for the past 13 years, Maria started on "Back to the Future - the animated series and "Fievel's American Tails" at Universal Cartoon Studios. The following 8 years were spent as head of talent and casting for MGM Animation where she cast, voice and musical directed such animated Television and Feature projects as "The Pink Panther" and "All Dogs Go To Heaven". The years that followed included projects for Disney Channel, Sony Wonder, Nick Jr., Mattel (The Barbie Movies) and is thrilled to be currently the casting, voice and musical director for Disney Channel/Wildbrain's hit animated show, Higglytown Heroes.

A native of San Diego California, Maria was a student of dance and the theatre at a very young age performing in musicals for both San Diego Jr. Theatre and San Diego Civic Light Opera. She has worked in regional summer stock and professional theatre all over the country as a performer and choreographer, and has been a dancer at Disneyland. She directed, choreographed and performed in productions at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland with the USC School of Drama and has a degree in Theatre from USC. She is also a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Casting Executives.

Pamela Fisher Head of Commercial Department Talentworks Panelist: Talent Agents 101

Pamela is the head of the commercial department at TALENTWORKS talent agency in Burbank. In addition to running the department, she also helps to scout out fresh faces for the company's prestigious youth division, which is responsible for launching the careers of Leonardo DiCaprio, Hillary Swank, and Chad Michael Murray.

Ms. Fisher co-founded and co-created APPLAUSE THEATRICAL WORKSHOPS and BROADWAY BABIES in New York City; A company that teaches performance geared musical theater classes for Teens and preteens and an interactive Mommy and me program based on Broadway musicals. APPLAUSE & BROADWAY BABIES have been featured in THE NEW YORK POST, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, TIME OUT NY, IN STYLE MAGAZINE and on THE TODAY SHOW & CNN.

Jean Frost Director of Agency, Member and Mentor Services, EEO AFTRA Panelist: How to Avoid Scams, Industry Insight and Union Membership - A Panel Discussion

Jean Frost is Director of Agency, Member and Mentor Services, EEO for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Los Angeles Local. AFTRA represents performers (including news broadcasters, actors, singers, dancers, background players, extras and others) in areas of taped and digital programming. She started at AFTRA twelve years ago as a Television Field Representative. This offered Jean an opportunity to apply much of the knowledge from her previous career as a casting director, regarding minimums, codes, standards of practice, and building positive working relationships with performers, producers, agents, and others. As a Television Representative, in addition to helping producers understand their obligations under the AFTRA contracts, and filing claims for performers, she assisted in organizing and negotiating basic cable and other AFTRA agreements. From Television Representative, Jean was promoted to Director of the Agency Department, and recently her role was expanded to include Director of Agency, Member and Mentor Services, EEO.

She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and C.S.A., the association of Casting Directors. As a casting director, she cast television pilots, series, MOW's working with nearly all the major studios and networks. These projects included The Guys Next Door, Elvis, Buck James, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Misfits of Science, Leona Queen of Mean, the River Rat, and many other shows.

Jean is on the Board of the Sunshine Mission/Casa de Rosas, Los Angeles' oldest continually operating shelter for women and, with her husband, graphic artist Jim Childs, works with preservation organizations to designate and preserve historical buildings, sites and districts in Los Angeles. She is Councilmember Ed Reyes' (CD 1) appointee to the University Park Historic Preservation Overlay Zone Board and editor of their quarterly bi-lingual Newsletter.

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